How long did the creatures wait? Minutes? Hours?
Throughout the night, each of Noah’s creatures remained within the confines of their home, watching in quiet anticipation as Noah’s body went through a transformation that wasn’t just a change of the body, but of his soul.
His body was already adapting to the form of a druid, a being designed to shift and mold itself at will, but it was his soul that dictated the pace. The modifications of his essence were far more intricate.
It was hard for any of Noah’s creatures to turn away from his ongoing transformation despite the absurd amount of time that took place. Bonded by his soul, they have always felt connected to Noah, but the connection they were feeling now was completely different. What they felt now was a feeling as if they were a part of Noah, and that feeling was growing stronger.
As they watched, a change finally occurred. Noah’s form began to flicker between the many states of the forms he wielded. His hair bristled, almost completely covering him in fur, suddenly, his massive hand was covered in slime. His facial features continued to manipulate between his three distinct forms.
These changes were happening so fluidly, it was as if Noah was cognizant of what was happening, wielding it to happen. But then, Noah’s arm, which was completely created by slime, merged within his body.
The healed stump was all that remained. No one found this surprising until that stump began to open, and the flesh split, something began to grow.
It grew out his bone, resembling small twigs, but those twigs were as white as bone. Those twigs continued to stretch out, curving, bending, multiplying. The twigs continued on this way until they reached a certain length.
Although their growth had halted, the continuously multiplying of the small branches continued to shift and wrapped around themselves. After a certain amount of time, the end results were clear, out of bone? wood? Whatever it was, Noah’s new skeletal arm had taken shape.
The skeletal arm was almost a splitting image of a regular skeleton, except the density of the arm was perhaps twice as thick. It only took seconds for the skeleton to establish itself before the next changes.
Without an explanation, from within the gaps of bone, from the very marrow itself, flesh began to grow. At the same time, the flesh at his shoulder stretched forward, tendrils of muscle and tissue weaving together to form a complete arm. It was a process so seamless, so perfect, that it made even Fenrir’s regenerative abilities seem primitive in comparison.
When the last of his skin wrapped around his new limb, it was then that the final change took place. Parts of the skin of his arm began to harden, changing to dark purple hide that became spike armor. His arm was almost a complete replica of his other arm now if not accounting for the massive gauntlet hand. At the ends of his fingers were claws much sharper than its other counterpart, claws that were able to retract and extract at will. If his right arm was a domineering hammer, then his other arm was now lethal daggers.
The final stretch of his exoskeleton settled, at that moment Noah’s eyes opened. In that brief moment, it was as if now Noah was a completely different being, as if he was the embodiment of nature itself. His presence seemed to blend in front of them.
The confusion in his creatures eyes were evident, while only one creature there was able to perceive his presence. Roots sprouted from the ground, softly latching onto Noah’s leg. Pandora’s main body glowed with a bright intensity. Shocked, curious? She wasn’t sure what the feeling was, but the serenity mixed with the chaotic nature of Noah’s was uncannily familiar to her own.
Noah’s eyes that were still blanking looking past everyone quickly came to the roots sudden contact. His expression was one of confusion, his initial reaction was to forcibly break free, but seeing the glowing energy within the roots clarified who they belonged to. Thinking of Pandora, Noah remembered where he was and what he was doing.
His gaze looked up, shifting to his companions. Scattered throughout their home, each of them bore a different expression, some confused, other in quiet contemplation. Yet, beneath all those reactions, one unifying emotion was felt through them all, reverence.
They looked upon him as if he was a being that transcended mortals themselves, a divine being.
"It seems you aren’t aware yet, Noah..." Noah’s head snapped quickly to Aieletta, his curiosity towards what she had to say was tantamount to the storm of endless thoughts within him. his gaze was sharp, as if he could pull the truth from her lips before she even spoke.
"The change that you went through, it changed the connection we share with you." As she spoke she began to walk towards him. Out of the others, only she was able to contain herself another to be able to approach without hesitation, but even she was affected by his new presence.
Noah’s gaze flickered, his hands instantly flexed from his anxiousness to know. He held the urge to question, knowing that Ailetta already made it a habit to drag out suspense.
Ailetta stopped just short of him, her violet eyes gleaming with a hint of fanaticism as she stared deep into his eyes while the rest were analyzing him all over. "Before, we were merely linking to you, feelings were shared, powers shared, but our souls were still linked, in a way, independent from one another."
She paused again, her hand lifted towards Noah’s face, gently cupping his cheek. The deep analytical stare from before turning into one of endearment.
"But now it’s as if you literally had become our entire existence. Our souls don’t just connect anymore, they exist within you."
Ailetta’s lips curled into a smile seeing how quickly he caught on. After going into his soul realm, he saw it. Miniature spheres resembling the souls of each and everyone of his creatures. Every soul was different, but in the end, everyone of them was connected to his own by a single thread of energy, and each of them held a thin layer of the same green runes as Noah’s but the amount of ruins were far less than his own.
The sight should’ve been welcoming, but Noah began to fear it. His vision quickly went upward towards the entity. It didn’t show any signs of showing interest towards their souls, at least not yet. Despite this, Noah didn’t believe for a second that his companions’ souls were safe.
"I don’t think you need to worry about us with that one."
Noah was caught unaware by Ailetta’s voice. He was only momentarily taken back, realizing that she was merged with him. The realization quickly turned to confusion, his gaze going towards a certain sphere, a sphere that was also hers.
"So you really did split your soul in two...and I thought my existence was a freak of nature." Ailetta chuckled, her voice reverberating within him.
"Freak of nature?" she questioned with a sense of amusement. "Look up there and say that again, who’s the freak here?"
Her question was met with an awkward silence, but nothing needed to be said, she was aware of all of his feelings when they were in this state.
"You know, ever since that thing tried to take control over you, I learned that it only has you in its sights." Ailetta’s solemn words brought their conversation back to its original point.
"That thing had every opportunity to force me to do whatever it wanted, I could do nothing to resist it at that time, and even then, it gave up. I would never forget it, that creature hated the fact that it was even connected to me for even just a few seconds. So, Noah, I don’t believe you have to worry about our souls being here."
As he absorbed her words, Noah’s anxiety calmed. It was surprising how easy he was to come to terms with what she said. However, to him, it wasn’t surprising at all. Him and the creature were tied to each other, for better or for worse.
_________________________
Instead of lingering in his soul, Noah and Ailetta were back in the present.
Noah exhaled sharply, his thoughts now were centered on himself. Just like everything else with the system, skills granted by it were imprinted into their soul, giving them the intuition of how to use their skills, but seeing the notifications was an habitual act. There was a certain kind of gratification from seeing it as notifications. It was a validation that he was progressing, growing stronger than he was before. The rightful source is NoveI-Fire.ɴet
But most importantly, just because he knew what his skills were and how to use them; he was still unaware of how more powerful he had become.
His eyes calmly closed as he began to check the notifications.
[The merge of the class Druid tamer has successfully merged with your Monster Evolutionist class. The two classes has transcended your class into, "Evolutionary Guardian."]
[Evolutionary Guardian is a protector and guide of the balance between nature and evolution. As a being deeply connected to nature and the origins of evolution, the Evolutionary Guardian is a force of nature that nurtures, evolves, and merges with creatures to ensure their survival and strength.]